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Symbols In East Of Eden By John Steinbeck

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In John Steinbeck’s, East of Eden, there a few literary elements and themes that connect the overall storyline together. The one element that seems to be in every big plot twist is symbolism. Symbolism is the use of symbols to represent ideas or qualities. Steinbeck uses these symbols to carry an extra meaning, leading it to morph into an idea for an overall message that he is trying to claim. Through the use of symbolism, Steinbeck portrays the idea of how one’s constant battle with good and evil represents one’s path. From early on the narrator starts off and displays a major message of the story with a symbol, The Salinas Valley. The Salinas tie in with every character of the book, they represent each character’s struggle with good and evil. In the narrator’s awe of the valley he depicts the detail between each mountain that encloses the …show more content…

From her introduction to the story Cathy has always been painted as a monster and has always lived up to it. She represents evil and sins. Adam, a representation of innocence, comes across her and is sucked in into her sinful ways. Although he does not see her evilness, the characters around him immediately detect how off she is and realize the evil within. One of those characters is Samuel Hamilton. Samuel is a well respected man in the valley and from his first encounter with Cathy knew there was some evilness that lurks within her. While eating at Adam’s place, Samuel spots out how odd Cathy eats and the narrator states, “ Cathy was chewing a piece of meat, chewing with her front teeth. Samuel had never seen anyone chew that way before. And when she had swallowed, her little tongue flicked around her lips” (171). Samuel is comparing her to a snake, a corrupt one. By identifying her as a snake, he adds on to the villainous personality of Cathy. Indicating that in Adam’s life she is the evilness that will break him down. And in this situation, Adam is blindly

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